Christophe Duhamel Global Office Coordinator, FAO Statistics Division Measuring progress of countries’ capacity in agricultural statistics: lessons learnt from the Global Strategy Measuring Statistical Capacity Development A review of current practices and ideas for the future – towards Statistical Capacity 4.0 PARIS 21 – 11/12 December 2017 Christophe Duhamel Global Office Coordinator, FAO Statistics Division

Outline The Global Strategy approach Measurement practices in Africa: lessons learnt Conclusions

The Global Strategy approach (1) Methodology developed in 2014 for supporting the implementation of the Global Strategy at country level First country-based activity: initial assessment carried out in all countries using a self-reporting standard questionnaire Responses converted into a suite of indicators reflecting the country’s capacity in agriculture statistics

The Global Strategy approach (2) 4 dimensions assessed Institutional infrastructure Resources Statistical methods and practices Availability of statistical information 23 elements/indicators > 250 questions

The Global Strategy approach (3) Example Questions related to Indicator on Integration of Agriculture in the NSS

The Global Strategy approach (4) Possible immediate uses… Creation of country profiles, grouping of countries for identifying priority interventions Outcome indicator for the Global Strategy Results Framework

The Global Strategy approach (4) More recently: Indicator used to monitor African countries’ capacities for evidence-based planning in the framework of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Africa Development Programme (CAADP)

The Global Strategy approach (5) However, Just the first step of an overall process of in-depth assessment and strategic planning in agricultural statistics! Questionnaire-based assessments will only provide an indication of strengths and weaknesses …while in-depth country assessments embedded into SPARS will provide insights into the issues and constraints

Measurement practices in Africa (1)

Measurement practices in Africa (2)

Measurement practices in Africa (3)

Measurement practices in Africa (4) Lessons learnt: strengths Quality of self-reporting considerably improved thanks to training and validation workshops organised at regional and national levels (particularly for sub-sectors): coordination of country’s responses strongly improved; First assessment generated through questionnaires facilitated the overall assessment phase of SPARS and the preparation of “country proposals”;

Measurement practices in Africa (5) and robustness of indicators: explanatory factors provided by countries:

Measurement practices in Africa (6) Lessons learnt: weaknesses It is an investment that requires some resources Capacity to produce… and use (to be improved) Individual dimension not covered (however, the updated SPARS guidelines attempt to better integrate this dimension) Questionnaires to be updated for better reflecting the new agendas

Conclusions A tool that can be used for measuring the capacity of countries in the field of agricultural statistics: unique tool existing in our sector A process to be completely embedded into the overall framework of national strategic plans design National ownership is important: indicators are produced by countries using a methodology that is internationally comparable Measuring progress is quite easy. However measuring the factors explaining this progress requires specific analyses.

www.gsars.org LoA AFRISTAT Communication/Coordination with targeted countries Confirmation of participating countries, activities and timelines Contribution to the development of training material Organization of workshop (invitations, logistics, travel, visa…) Development and implementation of TA protocols Participation in workshop and TA activities Functional Management of FAO consultants based in their premise